Linked Spirit (5e Background)

Linked Spirit

A spirit has chosen to bind itself to you and manifest in a way that only you can sense. This spirit could be the ghost of someone who has passed or could be an entity from another world. The relationship can be amiable or adversarial. As a background, the connection to this spirit probably dates back to childhood and has affected the character’s development and relationships. Maybe the character was viewed as crazy or empowered or possessed. As such, the character has developed the ability to read the intentions of those around them and to conceal the nature of this bond. The spirit does not follow instructions or have any connection to the physical world, so it cannot be used to spy or act as a familiar, however the character has managed to learn from their connection with this spirit.

What is your connection to your spirit? Why has it chosen to appear to you? Do you get along with your spirit? Does the spirit act as a mentor to you? As an antagonist? As a motivator? Does the spirit appear to you or just talk to you? Does it always look/sound the same?

When did this spirit first bind with you? How do you feel about the spirit being bound to you? Did the spirit influence your character class? Do the new skills/spells you learn with each level come from your spirit? Does your spirit know something that the DM can use to propel the story (location of a treasure, identity of a villain, etc.)? Do you even believe it’s real?

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Deception

Tool Proficiencies: One of choice, learned from the spirit. It can be a tool set or instrument.

Languages: One of your choice, learned from the spirit.

Equipment: One set of traveling clothes, a journal you wrote when the bond began (written in the language learned from the spirit), a tool kit or instrument related to the proficiency you learned from the spirit, and a belt pack containing 10 gp.

You also possesses a trinket that reminds you of their spirit. Losing the trinket will cause distress which manifests as a level of exhaustion until the trinket is found or replaced. If the character’s class equipment provides a spellcasting focus, that focus may be the trinket (meaning that the items would be one in the same rather than two separate items), however this need not be the case.

Spirit Nature

d6	Nature of Spirit
1	An ancestor or deceased family member
2	An otherworldly entity (Clerics/Warlocks might have these be related to their deity/patron)
3	A long-deceased master of their character class
4	The ghost of an adversary or rival (Romeo being bound by an ancestral Capulet)
5	Someone or something killed by the character or a relation (Aaron Burr’s grandson bound by the ghost of Alexander Hamilton)
6	The deceased owner of the trinket that came into your possession through chance

Feature: Mysterious Knowledge

Sometimes your spirit seems to know things that a mortal could not. This knowledge comes in the form of a word or short phrase uttered by the spirit. The utterance is usually out of context, no more than a few words long (usually in the language learned from the spirit), and the spirit cannot explain the utterance or often realize it said anything. Utterances are devised by the DM as a clue or reference to something relevant to the campaign. It might relate to a character ("Trust not the watchman,") or a puzzle ("Not left,") or a destination ("Catacombs") or anything else the DM dreams up. This may be consistent throughout or be used to nudge characters in the right direction when they're stuck. (Often the best utterance is one that makes no sense to the players until it's too late.)

Suggested Characteristics

Linked Spirits experience a relationship that no one around them can perceive or share. They also have an acceptance and understanding of another plane of reality that isn’t so much learned as it is developed naturally. These things create an indelible impression on their personalities.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I prefer talking to my spirit over other people around me.
2	I have more respect for the deceased than I do for the living.
3	The things I say bear the wisdom of ages and people should take my counsel and opinions as superior to that of others.
4	Nothing is as fascinating as the dead or the afterlife.
5	I have an aversion to the dead and the afterlife; don’t talk about it around me.
6	People have shunned me for so long, I am starved for any sort of attention, positive or negative.
7	I am not afraid to die. When it’s my turn, it’s my turn. I'm ready.
8	Secrets taken to the grave are likely lost forever. I don’t want that to happen to me, so I share just about every thought that crosses my mind.

d6	Ideal
1	Charity. I have been chosen for a reason – to provide service to the people who are alive. (Good)
2	Justice. The fallen must be avenged. (Lawful)
3	Nonconformity. Whatever makes you different makes you special. Flaunt it. (Chaotic)
4	Superiority. Only the best will be remembered, and I don’t intend to be forgotten. (Evil)
5	Posterity. The knowledge imparted from my spirit is for all. I am here to share with any who will listen. (Neutral)
6	Perseverance. Good things happen; bad things happen. Is there even a difference? Just accept it and keep going. (Any)

d6	Bond
1	My spirit wants me to accomplish something. I will succeed at it before I die. (Pick one large goal.)
2	I will make this spirit go away if it’s the last thing I do!
3	The unusual and unwanted need to be nurtured and protected; who better to do that than me?
4	My spirit wanted to do things they never could, so it’s up to me to experience those things instead. (Pick three or more small goals.)
5	My ancestors are watching, so in everything I do I must make them proud of me.
6	The innocent and the vile must be separated by the barrier between the living and the dead.

d6	Flaw
1	My spirit picks the worst and most distracting times to speak to me.
2	I talk to my sprit out loud and not always at appropriate times.
3	I demand that others respect the presence of my spirit (leaving it a seat, not talking over it, etc.)
4	I assume everyone else also has a spirit that they refuse to talk about, so I try to trick them into revealing its nature.
5	I don’t think death is that big a deal. It’s no more traumatic than moving to a different town. People just need to get over it.
6	I’m incredibly superstitious. If someone shares their superstition with me, it will be my superstition too.

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